From the Fifth Third Bancorp 2020 ESG Report: Employee Engagement

The Fifth Third Compass symbolizes our culture. Our Compass clearly communicates who we are, what we believe, how we deliver value and how we interact with others.

The Compass is so important in our culture that it is intentionally and regularly reinforced through employee communications and training, engagement initiatives, performance reviews and metrics as well as our everyday actions, processes and business controls.

The Human Capital division used the Compass as a guide to develop its four strategic priorities. Each priority helps our culture to evolve and strengthens employee engagement.

MAKING EMPLOYEES’ VOICES HEARD

Listening to and learning from employees stands at the heart of Fifth Third’s culture and commitment to provide employees a work environment in which they can be and do their best. That is why Fifth Third uses a holistic approach to collecting employee feedback and measuring employee engagement regularly and at critical points through each employee’s Fifth Third career.

Fifth Third’s Board of Directors and executive management assess employee engagement on a regular basis by collecting employee feedback, primarily through our annual engagement survey and various pulse surveys. In 2020, positive survey results earned us an Energage Top Workplace Award in 10 of our regions. More important than the recognition are the insights and actions that we glean from our contact with employees. We use this feedback to continuously improve the employee experience and, ultimately, our business.

In 2020, due to the pandemic, we performed more frequent pulse surveys instead of conducting our annual employee engagement survey. In our latest annual engagement survey in 2019, our engagement score for customerfacing employees was 74%. This score was up 4 percentage points over 2018 and put us in the top quartile for this employee segment based on companies that use the methodology of our survey partner, Kincentric. We expect to return to our annual survey in 2021.

We deployed two COVID-19 pulse surveys in May and August because it was critical to gather employee feedback and continuously listen as the situation evolved. The pulse surveys focused on leadership, communications, collaboration, employee safety and well-being, and productivity as we navigated our evolving work environment and processes. In these surveys, employees indicated that they received a high level of manager support, had an understanding of the steps being taken for their well-being, were getting information they needed and that their current work arrangements allowed them to collaborate effectively and be productive.

In addition to gathering employee feedback during key moments or events, we also collect employee feedback three times during the onboarding process, as well as when employees leave the Bank. With this rich set of employee data, we identify key themes to drive meaningful strategic and cultural improvements. In 2020, employee engagement at 30 days was 90% (92% in 2019)—11 percentage points above the national average. At 90 days, engagement was at 87% (85% in 2019), 8 percentage points higher than the national average. Our exit survey results show that advocacy, which indicates the likelihood that an employee would continue to be a supporter of the Company or return to Fifth Third in the future, was 69%, up 4 percentage points from 2019 and 11% percent higher than the national average.

Our 30- and 90-day onboarding surveys use the same statements to measure engagement as we use in our annual employee engagement survey. They are:

• It would take a lot to get me to leave this organization.
• I would not hesitate to recommend this organization to a friend seeking employment.
• Fifth Third inspires me to do my best work every day.
• I rarely think about leaving this organization to work somewhere else.
• Given the opportunity, I tell others great things about working here.
• Fifth Third motivates me to contribute more than is normally required to complete my work.

For more information, please access to the Fifth Third Bancorp 2020 Environmental, Social and Governance Report.